Mark Knopfler

Just keeping this short and sweet, this CD is really void of any energy. Sure there may be a track of two with catchy chord progressions, but realistically, it's quite boring. I am a big fan of MK's music, and especially his guitar playing ability, but this CD just doesn't work for me, and, it won't be one that I grab for long road trips.

Half the time, I don't have a clue as to what Mark is singing about as his voice is muddled and trails off. This is part of the "energy" that is simply missing, both in his singing and his playing. I kinda get the feeling that MK just doesn't care anymore. (On the very first track I was reaching for the controls trying to boost treble, but for some reason, it is not "crisp"....what's up with that? Sounds like he recorded it in his living room). I'd pass on this CD.

This CD has some lovely melodies, and the lyrics are interesting as usual. My husband introduced me to Mark Knopfler's music, and my appreciation has increased with each CD I listen to. Husband thinks some of the lyrics are a bit too grim ("Madame Geneva's", for example). I find some of them startling and some puzzling, but either way, I enjoyed the music. "True Love Will Never Fade" is a beautiful tune.

Gone now are those marvelous guitar solos, charged with energy yet seemingly effortlessly controlled as, for instance, the Basel live version of "Sultans of Swing". But still very apparent in this CD is the ability to tell a story in a song and to express emotion on the guitar. Knopfler has moved on, and although the youthful energy is no longer there, his art has not diminished, and that puts him in another league from any other musician that I know.

The quality of the music is toned down but still very apparent. Some of the story songs are certainly by comparison to his classic stuff a bit quaint - like "The Scaffolder's Wife" and "Secondary Waltz" - and they are not the stuff that invites listening over and over again. But they are well done and not just throwaways, although perhaps they require the listener to be beyond a certain age.

The rest of the CD has a lot more understatement and more staying power. Songs such as "Behind with the Rent" and "In the Sky" are gems that are beautifully done. As a whole the lyrics are subtle and clever. The guitar says much in a quiet way.

The lyrics and the scenes described are just wonderful. Listen and you will understand.

Mark Knopfler is a fine musician with highly developed skills as a producer.

I admire and respect his hard work as I do his humanity.

This album has staying power, is a thinking-person's album, sounds great, has terrific lyrics, is well thought out, and basically makes everything else I listen to sound downright crappy. Buy it and listen the heck outta it. I listen to all genres of rock. There is simply nothing better than this album. BTW if you don't like country music, which I don't, you will still like this album.

This CD doesn't have a bad track. On top of that, the first song, Beachcombing, is great to sing along with! I like to think I do a pretty good Mark Knopfler impression, and to be able to harmonize with Emmy Lou at the same time is awesome. Buy it!
Kirby Hall
Somewhere in the Wilds of Alaska (trashing Sarah Palin)

This is one of my most listened to cds. Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler...They just seem to fit together, each bringing their own compliment to the songs....A great cd

I am very pleased with the product I received and will continue to do more in the future.

This is album is just plain wonderful. Each and every song is a gem. After getting this cd, I listened to it 5 times strait, and still can't get enough of it. I still have to listen to it once a week.

MK & EH voices are perfect together. I couldn't think of any better duet singers.

I really enjoy every track, but my ultimate favorites are:
"I Dug Up A Diamond"
"If This Is Goodbye"
"Belle Star"
"Donkey Town"

Hurry up and grab this, and the companion "live cd/dvd combo."

Happy listening!

Captured here is a struggle, lives found, singing guitar..still I find "Baloney Again" a tribute to Black survival only a true bluesman could create. Props to the Knoph. That's what it is. Greatness.

This is a wonderful portfolio of what Mark Knofler can do musically. No two songs are alike and the music covers everthing from ballad to blues. Definitely worth the price of purchase.

I'm one of Mark Knopfler's biggest fans(and have been since i first heard "Sultans Of Swing" back in '78) and I have to say that I don't think he's ever put out an album better than this one. It amazes me from first song to last. As ever, he writes stories,not just throwaway lyrics to support the melody.A couple of good examples here---The title track wherein he teaches all of us a little about American history(the two men who mapped out the Mason-Dixon Line) and the one describing a mail order bride and her pioneer husband starting a new life together. Start to finish an amazing piece of work worthy of his prodigious songwriting talent.

Somewhat quiet, yet upbeat rhythms; try and listen to the
guitar nuances in the background. Good, clean, diverse
traditional instruments fill-in, without artificial
sounds -- effortless.

It's a real stretch for me to say that anyone is better than Eric Clapton. But the truth is - Mark Knopfler is the best guitarist I have ever heard - Sailing to Philadelphia is my all time favorite album/cd.
I am an Ozark Moutain Daredevils fan too and I have worn out 5 of the "quilt" albums and cd's and I think one 8 track tape. Sailing to Philadephia will beat that record for me.
~Chrissy Phillips, Springfield - MO

Knowing their way since long before, nothing negative may be said about a performance did by two GIANTS of the guitar. Their spontaneous artistry makes them perform flawlessly to the point that nothing less than ***** may be given. It should be exiting to think about this work if being released using hi-rez. format.

Having seen some videos of these two in performance, I expected a lot more from the CD. There was no reason to include vocals on this effort, or even backing instrumentation. Atkins was a pioneering genius of the guitar and Knopfler is his equal in talent and technique. The two of them together alone on a stage made magic, and that's all this CD needed. Yes, there is great guitar playing to be found here, but not nearly as much as there might have been had the production not been overloaded with extraneous material. One great guitarist can entertain a crowd all night -- two great guitarists as in sync with one another as Knopfler and Atkins were, could (and did) entertain the crowd that much more. Don't get me wrong -- the music on here is good music. Nothing wrong with it. But, it confounds me why a decision was made to include singing and a back-up band, since the attraction here is these two great guitarists playing together. Knopfler and Atkins missed an opportunity to leave us an exemplary permanent record of a one-of-a-kind musical pairing.

Why didn't I get this sooner?... This disc seems like a delightful, easy-going jam between Knofler and Atkins. Very enjoyable.

If you like Chet Atkins and Dire Straits you will love this CD. The blending of the 2 styles is great. Enjoy it alot and will keep it as one of my all time favorites.

This is truly one of the sweetest CDs I own. Not only is the music just grand, but the warmth between Chet and Mark really comes through.

1. The music on the CD and the DVD is flat-out wonderful. Heavy, constant rotation on the in-home and in-car music systems. Can't get Romeo and Juliet out of my head. Boulder to Birmingham and Red Dirt Girl are stunning. Get a towel for If This is Goodbye (and note the commentary on this tune in the DVD interview).

2. The DVD is more problematic. Great interview segment with Knopfler and Harris. Well produced, good commentary, a cool production space that it was shot in. A mix of points of view, video and stills and a well mixed audio track make it interesting and entertaining.

But the concert video, now that's a different story. It's clear that the production was done with good gear, you can occasionally see some of it moving around in the background of a few shots. But the framing, editing and points of view of the cameras are amazingly amateurish. Major focus problems are a constant annoyance throughout. Emmylou Harris standing out of focus in the middle of a frame is unforgivable. She's stunningly gorgeous for one, and the female star of the show, and the cameraman can't get her in focus??? Fire the cameraman. Editor uses an out of focus shot of the headliner??? Fire the editor. It also appears clear that neither the camera people nor the editor knows the music well, as none of the cinematography builds on the content of the music. This could have been addressed with some pre-production planning, but it wasn't.

In addition, there were almost no shots of the stage from further away than the edge of the stage, which means the overall structure of the set and the lighting design could never be seen. Perhaps because it was shot at an outdoor shed that didn't look glamorous enough? Shooting from the mix position would have at least let us see a bit of the light show at climactic moments.

My guess is that the video shoot was thrown in at the last minute as an afterthought and done by a contractor used to working on stage, but either without adequate time to plan, not a big enough budget to hire the right crew, or both. This video is documentary 101, and that's it. It shows what happened, but does not deepen the musical experience at all.

Too bad... the music was stunning, the union of Knopfler and Harris inspired, and their work together magical. They deserved better.

Do note that there is music worth having that only appears on the DVD, so the extra money for the extra tunes is somewhat justified. But you won't bother watching the show more than once.

Being that "All The Roadrunning" is one of my all time favorite albums, it is a no brainer that I would love this set.

The dvd is just awesome. Sadly I didn't get a chance to attend one of their concerts while they were on tour, luckily with the included awesome dvd, I feel as if I had. The dvd is shot wonderfully, and included wonderful sound. There is also some great behind the scenes footage that is just awesome. You really feel like an insider after watching them.

What is great is that the cd and the dvd both have tracks that the other doesn't include. This way you get to enjoy both equally without disregarding one or the other.

Another cool thing that they did with this set, is give each artist time to sing some of their songs alone.

Some of my favorite tracks from this set are:
"Done With Bonaparte"
"Red Dirt Girl"
"Romeo and Juliet"
"This Is Us"
"If This Is Goodbye"

Hope you enjoy this set as much as I do!

If you are a fan of either EH or MK or the "All The Roadrunning" album this set is a must!

I love this music, and I loved it before I ever ordered this DVD. After watching it, I can only shake my head at the fools that photographed and edited it. These songs deserve sustained attention, and this duo of clowns seem like they couldn't even successfully navigate a pedestrian crosswalk without veering off into some other endeavor. Jurg Walter supervised photography (Won't it be INTERESTING if we walk around, shake the camera at long zoom ranges, and have trouble focusing?) and William E. Bullen, clearly under the influence of heavy stimulants at the time, did the editing (I'm BORED with this shot! It's gone on eight seconds already! Let's do something completely different!)

What can I say? I love the music. I watch the DVD in spite of the photography and the editing, although both are intrusive, incompetent, and stupid. Seems unfair to knock the rating down too much just because the artists let some idiots handle the video. 4 stars - could easily have been 5, if they had just set a few cameras on tripods and used that footage instead of being "creative".

This live recording capture the true essens of two worlds from the top music worlds. Mark's fantastic ability to get deep into the country style, and Emylou's soft and emotional expression just makes the concert a delight. The video and sound of this DVD is just absolutely great, and i can only award it my best recommendation here.

THE SOUND QUALITY IS EXQUISITE FOR A LIVE RECORDING, AND BEING LIVE WITH A LARGE AUDIENCE MAKES IT INFINITELY BETTER THAN A STUDIO SESSION. THE VISUALS ARE GREAT WITH CLOSEUPS OF THE FINGERING ON THE INSTRUMENTS AS WELL. I WISH THERE WERE MORE DVDS AVAILABLE FOR THEIR OTHER CONCERTS. I LIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS SOME DISTANCE FROM CONCERT VENUES AND WOULD LIKE MORE CONCERTS LIKE THIS ON DVD. I ALSO BOUGHT MADONNAS DROWNED WORLD CONCERT DVD AND FOUND IT TO BE EXCELLENT. I BECAME A FAN OF HERS AS A RESULT OF THAT DVD. I WOULD LIKE AMAZON TO HAVE A CATEGORY OF LIVE CONCERT DVDS WITH SAMPLES AVAILABLE LIKE ITUNES HAS BEFORE MAKING THE FULL PURCHASE.

A great CD. I love his guitar playing and this CD was no exception. He is truly fantastic. Mary

"don't crash the ambulance" was written for Barrack Obama. He should take a listen.

From an audiophile's or music lover's perspective, this one is a must have. I don't particularly care for country music, which this record does have the air of.. But the song writing and studio production are top-notch, as is the history of Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits. On a personal note, I did spend the extra $$$ on the double vinyl set, which I was greatly disappointed with. The CD has much better charm, harmonic structure, and dynamics than the LP version, which is usually not the case with compact disk audio. I believe this is because the double LP is half-speed mastered. This process requires special equalization to keep the record compliant with RIAA standards. Too bad... So, don't bother with the LP. Buy the CD. The song lineup is very dynamic and has some interesting story lines. Like most good folk/country records, it's life set to music.

Absolutely love 80% of it. Favorites are 5:15 AM, Boom, like that, Song for Sonny Liston, Postcards from Paraguay and Don't crash the ambulance. Could do without the slower pieces, but I can listen to the whole CD once a day. So glad he does what he does. One CD every 18 months. Please keep it going, Mark. Would love to hear you do an entire CD with spanish guitar. Seems like you've mellowed over time and written better story songs, but your guitar riffs are what bring tears to my eyes. Wife is now a big fan and I'm working on the kids. They love your stuff too.

I love Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler. I think he is right up there with Springsteen, McCartney, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson and Elton John as one of the premier singer-songwriters of the last 40 years. I have all his albums.

I think this is his best album. Like Dylan's most recent album, "Modern Times", it the music of a mature and consummate artist, in many ways the distillation of years and years of writing and performing great music. Also like that album it is one that I come back to again and again. For a solid month and a half after I got it I listened to virtually no other CD in my car stereo. It is loaded with great songs, including the title track. I liked it so much I searched out and bought the LP version. (I am an audiophile with expensive analog and vacuum tube equipment and about 5K LPs.) It sounds even better on the LP version!

Highly recommended.

Quiet, realxing and familiar tunes for Princess Bride feature film lovers and others.

Besides the movie being one of our family's all-time favorites, this was a special purchase because we used selected tracks as processional and recessional music for our daughter's wedding. It turned out beautifully! Thanks, Mark!

Loved the movie and music- already had the soundtract on LP - wanted it in DVD format.

I'm sure everyone has fond memories of this film. The soundtrack always manages to make me smile.

This CD like the movie is a gem. The music on it really captures the feelings of the movie. If you liked the movie and enjoy movie soundtracks you'll like this.

I am a fan of MK but I have been disappointed with his creations of late. This CD somehow slipped by me & it has been a great surprise...a throwback to the Dire days!!

Great CD but cut 13 & 14 were flawed. Too bad because I really liked "Done with Bonaparte"

I believe this is Knopfler's best all around solo effort ... it's beautiful, tender, aggressive at times and just wonderful as a whole. He is such a genius and his guitar playing shines through pretty much every song along with his subtle understated vocals. Really excellent...way to go Mark!

This album blew my socks off when I first got it(many years ago) and I find that I'm no less impressed by it even today. Many great songs here---"Imelda", "Done With Bonaparte", "A Night In Summer Long Ago", "Vic and Ray", "Darling Pretty"--to name a few.A great release by one of the best songwriters and innovative guitar stylists of our generation.

Great CD with the track number one used in the movie Twister.
I bought it because of this music.

Mark Knopfler is a gem and remains one of the most enduring icons of real talent in a world of fleeting mediocrity. This CD is as solid as ever, is beautifully mastered, and easy to listen to. But, it takes no risks, shows none of the searing energy that used to make the hair stand up on the back of my neck, and simply does not showcase his limitless talent. I listen to Dire Straits religiously and crank up the volume like I'm still 20 years old. I listen to this CD once in a while. The old Mark Knopfler - the guy that stood toe to toe with Clapton at Knebworth and whipped the crowd into a frenzy - seems forever gone, and I miss him. I wish HE would record another CD, because DAMN that guy was good.

I am often disappointed by the steady stream of throw-away tripe that passes for music, so I usually stick with productions I know and enjoy. That having been said, I can report that for a discriminating listener The Rag Picker's Dream is so worthwhile that you may well find yourself so immersed in this wonderful CD that you will listen to little else as I have for the last two weeks.

The Ragpicker's Dream not only touches me at a personal level with its warm ballads of common people, hardships, and small triumphs but appeals to me with rich, varied, and textual quality.

I should add that until my youngest brother turned me on to this CD I had no idea who Knopfler was.

You will not be disappointed with this purchase. So, one question; is the "Springer" in Devil's baby Jerry Springer and is the comparison between the freak shows of circuses past to modern television programming purposeful or only in my imagination?

I really like Mark Knopfler, I think he's one of, if not "the" best guitar players today. I know there's alot of people who said that before I did. He has a unique "Blues-y" vocal quality. This is typical for Mark Knopfler, never a bad CD. This is not my favorite CD of his but it has more than enough of what I like about his music to make it a must-have for Knopfler fans. For me, the import version would not be worth the doubled price for the reason that I have all his CD's and DVD's and the extras are found on other cd's. If you don't have the Sailing To Philadelphia" CD, buy the import, it's worth it for even that one song.

i have always loved mark knopfler and he is one of the finest singers ever.i really think that quality shoe is a perfect song for me as well as coyote,coyote has a great driving end..if your having a bad day,why not turn on some mark knopfler and he'll make your day much,much better.

Mark Knopfler is so boring both in Dire Straits and as as well as a solo artist.He only made a single decent song in Sultans of swing.To the reviewer named For whom the bells toll a.k.a Whirligig,your opinion on great bands like LED ZEPPELIN,PINK FLOYD,LYNYRD SKYNYRD and THE ROLLING STONES has not been asked for.Leave those great bands alone and go and listen to your awful Green day and foreigner.Ragpickers dream is very very boring.DONT PURCHASE THIS,BUY LED ZEPPELIN'S FOURTH ALBUM instead.

Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler have been making alot of very good music for a long time (I admit Money For Nothing was the first song I really knew from MTV) and often trying to put together a set of music for artist like this is hard. There are a couple of things missing, The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies and soundtracks of all time, but this collection is very go and not simply a Greatest Hits Package.

Of course there is Money and Sultans of Swing, but songs like Brothers in Arms, a very moving track that is not as well known and Skateaway show that in putting this together the good breadth and depth was considered.

Very well done and not just a throw together greatest hits.

Dire Straits compilation is quite a masterpiece of their work, starting from their early times to the most recent album; Great for those who have not followed DS through the time and good to have for those who have.

Its old songs but classic album of Dire Straits
every age scales can listen and collecting this album.
Mark Knopfler is amazing with his guitar

This band was first seen by me in my hometown of Canberra Australia when they did their Australian tour in the 1990's, and I was blown away by the music

But what makes this the greatest of Greatest Hits CD's is that you have a double CD and you get both the Dire Straits and Mark Knofler's solo work. The best of both worlds. It's also good value for money as a 2 CD set.

I tried other Dire Staights compilations, and was never happy with them until I found this one. Right off the bat the first disc draws you in with the great "Telegraph Road", and all 14 minutes of it. It then spreads out across the Dire Straights discography. But one thing I would recommend, is to pick up the Imported version, as it will contain an additional track or two from the US version, most notably one of my favorites from the "Making Movies" album, "Skateway". All tracks are the full cut studio version, and not the stripped down or live versions, such as "Money For Nothing".

True, the second disc is made up of mostly Mark Knopfler solo tracks, but so what? They are all great tracks and fit in well with this project.

I would recommend.